Thank you so much for your patience! A lot of things happened this week for both me and my beta, but we got you! That kiss scene is coming up in chapter 16 :D I hope you enjoy that ride to it! In addition, the end of the story is approaching. I just wanted to thank you all so much for reading and commenting, it's truly meant so much to me!

The first thing we'd need to do before heading to Jericho was disguise ourselves. Connor certainly couldn't waltz in as the famed deviant hunter, nor could I strut in decked out in police gear. After I'd confirmed with Emma that Mom had left to go shopping, once again leaving my little sister to figure out how to look after herself all day, we took a taxi to my Mom's apartment.

When Emma opened the door to the apartment, she took one look at Connor and lost the ability to speak. Connor stared down at her with clear amusement. She squealed and grabbed his hand, jerking him along after her with all the force her little body could muster. While I closed the front door behind me with a click, she dragged him all the way down the entryway, and then around the corner. Her high-pitched voice echoed throughout the suite when she shouted, "Get in here!" as if annoyed I hadn't been strung along with him, like we were a paper doll chain.

"Coming, Em." I paused near our fish tank, recalling how Connor had asked about them during that first night I'd met him. Which one had he saved? Had it been Dewey, or Webby? The dwarf gourami shimmered in the waters as they swam, their scales an incandescent batch of color. Striding into the living room, I glanced around, wondering where they'd gone. Then I saw my sister poke her head out of her bedroom door. She beamed at me devilishly. "Oh no, what are you doing to him?" I quickened my pace and burst into her room.

Unlike my room, which had been stripped of any personal touch, Dad had convinced Mom not to mess with Emma's. I was thankful for that; it was good to see her express herself. As such, the sheer amount of pink was almost too much for me to handle, especially since I was surrounded by the deep blues of the DPD station every day. How Connor was handling the blinding hues, I'll never know.

Speaking of Connor, he was sitting cross-legged in the middle of her floor, a mess of sequined, sparkling toys surrounding him like an ocean. She'd adorned his head with a glittering silver tiara, its attached gauzy veil obscuring his face. Emma clasped her hands together and declared grandly, "Sam was nowhere near this pretty. I approve of your new boyfriend."

I had to wonder just what her reaction to Connor had been like the first time she'd seen him, when he and Hank had gone over to tell Mom a deviant had attacked me. I'd also need to teach her about how superficiality was not the only indicator of a good partner, but she was still a kid, and she didn't need such a heavy discussion.

I admonished, "Em, he's not your plaything, and he's not-"

But she wasn't listening to me. She sailed around the newly founded Connor Island, showering shining leaves of golden confetti over his head. All the while, the deviant hunter just smoothed back the veil from his face and let it dangle over the back of his neck, appearing equally enthused about the entire situation. He picked up some of the confetti and rubbed them between his fingers curiously.

Then she broke her course, snatched me by the wrist, and plopped me down onto the floor. My little sister puffed a strand of hair away from her face and propped her chin between her hands. "You're a terrible older sister. You didn't text me at all, but I can let it slide. For now." She glanced over at Connor. "I can see you were busy."

"Em," I said, trying to keep my voice devoid of the urgency I was feeling. "I'm sorry, I should've contacted you ahead of time, not just to ask you for a favor."

She waved my apology away and then asked matter-of-factly, "Have you guys kissed yet?"

My jaw practically hit the floor and a wave of heat crashed over me at the memory of it, though it wasn't the kind I wanted, not completely. "We're not dating-"

Connor interrupted, "We're not?"

I smacked his thigh lightly.

Emma, sensing she was being left out, snapped, "I'm not a kid anymore." Technically, she was. "I just wanna know."

"He's just my partner for the DPD, okay?" I turned to Connor, desperately. "Please ignore her, she's like this around pretty guys."

She started to protest but Connor smirked and cut her off with, "Oh, you're taking the survey now?"

"I'm not gonna tell Mom, okay?" Emma whined. I raked a hand through my hair and fought against an exasperated sigh. She needed a distraction after putting up with Mom, definitely. I could only imagine how stressful it'd been for her. Emma fetched her tablet, already babbling excitedly about her newest obsession. "It's an old show from like, a super long time ago, but it's really funny. Here, watch the first episode." She handed the tablet to Connor.

Connor took it from her and she plopped herself into his lap, placing her small hands over his, which were holding up the tablet perfectly steady for them. "It's buffering again," she groaned.

"Want to see a trick?" Connor asked her, and she twisted her neck to look up at him. When she nodded, he held up one hand with three fingers. I'd fully expected him to show her what he could do with a coin, but instead, he counted down, "Three, two, one!"

"Are you ready kids? Aye-aye captain. I can't hear you...Aye-aye captain!" The tablet blared a jovial swashbuckling kid's song.

Emma gasped and clamped onto his arm. "It worked! How'd you do that? Oh, look, isn't it funny? He lives in a pineapple under the sea!"

I allowed ourselves a few minutes of bliss, before I felt the inevitable tick of the clock counting down. As if sensing my growing anxiety, Connor's gaze flicked upwards from the tablet and found mine. He cleared away a spot beside him, and patted the carpet. We really had to go, but seeing the pure joy on Emma's face - something I'd not seen in weeks - I was overcome by the desire to make her happy. Especially after having spoken to Daniel not even an hour ago. God, should I even tell her about that? She'd want to know how he was and I couldn't very well tell her he was nailed up in the evidence room, it'd break her heart.

"Alright," I said, scooting over to join him. It's not like we'd get to Jericho right away, anyway. Ten minutes couldn't hurt. I drew my knees to my chest and then found I was falling sideways; Connor had looped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him.

"Hank would really like him," Connor said, directing my attention to a bright red crab in work clothes. He was currently screaming at the yellow...sponge(?) in pants.

"He loves money," Emma told him, "almost as much as someone loooooves-"

I reached out and planted my hand square across her mouth, silencing her. She spoke anyway but her voice was muffled. Hopefully, Connor couldn't discern her words. "Wow, he really does seem like Hank," I agreed, watching a few more seconds of the clip. "Probably shouldn't tell him that, though." Emma pushed my hand away and grinned at me, and I flicked her on the nose, enough to encourage a spark of mischief to flare in her eyes. She trapped my right arm in her lap and I couldn't help but smile at the action. It'd been so long since we'd spent any time together.

Connor's hand slid lower until he could wrap his arm around my waist, and I relaxed against his side. "We should show it to him, I'm sure he'd watch it with us," he said.

"Yeah," I murmured, but it came out more like a contented sigh. We were our own little family, and I adored the way my sister was curled up with us as if Christmas had arrived early. She was caught up in the show, so she didn't see Connor look down at me in surprise at my moment of weakness. Funny, I thought, how similar it felt to that night he'd carried me back to my apartment in the rain. Except this time I didn't look away. He laced his fingers with my left hand, which was resting on my knees.

Carl had told me to let Connor decide for himself, to let him find his own truth. I wasn't forcing him to take my hand. This was alright, I reassured myself.

"Oh look, it's Squidward!" Emma exclaimed, staring at the tablet. "He's my favorite, he's just the best."

"Yeah, he is," Connor agreed.

The colorful show cut off completely in a screech of static, replaced with KNC's Rosanna Cartland. All programs were switched when the government deemed it was absolutely necessary to inform the public of emergency situations, even ones that were being streamed rather than played live. The ribbon below Cartland flashed: Breaking: All Androids to be Detained. Connor's arm tightened around me, his fingers curling in mine.

"A new stage has been reached, demonstrating beyond all doubt that these defective machines have become a real danger to American society," Cartland began.

"What?" I sat up straight.

"The authorities have ordered all androids to be delivered to the nearest police station or army barracks immediately. If you are worried about your safety, dial the number on your screen and the authorities will come to collect your android."

Emma leaned over Connor's arm and looked at me, her eyes wide as saucers. "What's going on?" she asked, understandably scared.

Cartland continued over here, "Under no circumstances should you try to destroy your android yourself. They are unpredictable, and potentially violent."

I jerked back at the last words, drawing Connor's frightened gaze. We all glanced at each other, the cheerful calm from earlier replaced by utter horror.

The news flashed to civilian coverage. "The androids weren't doing any harm," a man insisted. "And the cops just..gunned them down. It was sheer carnage."

"Markus," I gasped.

Another witness was completely at a loss, sweeping his arms around and shaking his head as if he were in shock. "I know they're only machines, but they...they look like - just like, people! People who wanna be free!"

I let go of Connor and grabbed the tablet, switching to another news channel. A salt-haired man in a sharply-cut suit said, "Following the android crisis and the neutralization of all military androids, American forces have been forced to withdraw from the North Pole, leaving the way clear for the Russian army." My hands shook so violently that Emma asked me if I was okay. Connor steadied the tablet for me. "But according to some sources, the Russian forces also seem to have withdrawn."

Were they also dealing with deviants?

"The Kremlin has made no comment for the moment, but it is quite possible that the Russian army has been confronted with a similar crisis among its own androids. The Chairman of the United Nations, Douglas Cornwell, has called for the organization of an international conference on the status of the Arctic. In any case, the danger of a third world war seems to have been ruled out...for the moment."

The silence hanging over us all was deafening, even with the ongoing live coverage for the march Markus had led this afternoon. I was gripping the tablet so hard that if I'd had superhuman strength I'd have warped it by now.

Emma said, "I don't understand. Didn't that guy say the androids didn't do anything bad? What are they gonna do to them?"

I set the device down onto the floor and forced my shaking hands to quell. "Em," I began, "we need your help." My little sister looked frightened and confused. I smiled at her, but it was strained as hell and didn't seem to reassure her. "We need to borrow some of Dad's clothes, and then we have to leave. But most importantly, you can't tell Mom we were here. Can you do that for me?"

"Leave?" Her voice wavered.

"Connor and I have a mission to complete. It's top secret." I held a finger over my lips, conspiratorially. I had to be strong for her and make this seem less scary than it was. "Mom might need to take you outside of the city for a little while, if things get crazy." Considering they were forcefully rounding up deviants, the public was likely already panicking. Meaning, they were acting irrationally. There'd be violence, one way or another. To stop it, the government would probably have to step in. "I have a mission for you: keep Mom safe. I know she can be a pain sometimes, but she's all we have left."

Emma's upper lip trembled. She reached out and pulled me into her. Connor let go of me and tentatively placed his hand flat against my back. Her voice was hoarse. "I wish Dad were here. I wish Daniel were here."

I crushed her to me, breathing in her brown-sugar-shampoo scented hair. "I do too, Em. But we can't change the past. If you'd died-" My voice became thick with tears. I pulled back to look into her shining eyes, and I said, "I love you."

I didn't know what awaited Connor and I at Jericho, what this path led to. If this was the last time I'd ever see my little sister, I needed her to be brave. Family stuck together no matter what; Mom was struggling with a past she'd long since buried, only to find out it'd come back in the form of her own daughter. Harsh and controlling though she may be, she became an open wound when I was around, like she was her own scalpel. I wasn't supposed to go anywhere near androids after Dad had told me they were people, too. In her mind, she'd been right to worry after that horrific night where Daniel had killed Dad, had almost killed me too, by beating me and stabbing me, and had used Emma for his own shield.

While I couldn't forgive Mom for trying to control our lives, for neglecting both myself and Emma, for the abuse she'd wrought upon us while Dad was at work, I couldn't fault her for her fears. It'd take much more than a few good androids to convince her they were human. Everyone had good and bad in them; even the vilest of people did. It was how we chose to live our lives that lightened or darkened those shades of morally right and morally wrong, but she couldn't - or wouldn't - see that.

Emma withdrew from my embrace and wiped away her tears. "I love you too, so don't get killed."

I had no idea how to convey what the gravity of serving your country meant to her at her age. My job was to serve and to protect the people, and if I went down protecting the ones I loved, I saw no greater cause. And then I thought of what Connor had begged of me earlier this morning, how I'd promised him I'd think of Emma every time I was staring down death, and that I'd fight with everything I had to live for her. "You have so much to do with your life. The videos you make are unbelievably amazing. I wish I could animate and edit like you."

She huffed. "Yeah, and you got Carl Manfred to sponsor you."

"And now it's your turn to see what you can do. When I come back, I want to see what you'll create, what you'll do. So, keep me guessing, okay?"

"You better come back, I won't forgive you if you don't." She held out her pinky finger and I linked mine with hers.

"I'm your badass sister, of course I'll be back." Emma rolled her eyes. I continued, "Keep Mom safe. You're the only one who can. Now, will you help Connor out? Disguise him real good, I know you can find just what he needs. Let him dress himself, of course. I'll have to change in my room, so I'll check up on you when I'm done, okay?"

I jumped up with feigned enthusiasm and crossed to my room, closing my door behind me before a bout of tears split me apart. I swallowed them down, scrubbed them away, hid them in my cracking heart.

I zipped a heavy, olive-green raincoat over a black sweater and replaced my slacks with a pair of jeans. I strapped on worn boots, and shoved the exchange diary and my carry-on into my jacket pocket. I debated taking my phone with me. Then I removed the battery and tucked it beneath my mattress.

Opening my door, I glanced down the hallway. Making my way down to my parent's bedroom, I rapped twice on the door with my knuckles.

"Just a sec!" Emma yelled, before she opened the door and Connor appeared behind her. "Can you put this on him for me?" She threw a pigeon-gray beanie at me, not wasting a second as she slid a pair of matching thick leather gloves over his hands. They were far too big for him, engulfing him like mits on the stick arms of a snowman. She removed the gloves and herded him out of the room. "I dug around for some older clothes since most of them wouldn't fit him," she explained.

"That's very smart," I praised her, struggling to place the beanie on Connor. "Can you lean down for me, you're too tall," I said eventually; he had just stood there, staring down at me with a barely concealed smirk at my futile attempts to reach him. Someone was enjoying this, and it wasn't either of the Phillips sisters.

"Sorry, Officer," he said. He bent forward so I could cover his head with the beanie, concealing his LED. A stubborn swirl of his hair stuck out of the material and I pushed it back, brushing his locks into place. When there was no chance of his hair falling back, I smoothed the soft wool over his ears. Connor shuddered beneath my fingertips and I was thankful Emma was too busy straightening out his grey-brown jacket to notice. The memory of his lips against my forehead burned against my flesh and I cleared my throat, taking a step back from him.

Connor in civilian clothes, (not to mention my Dad's) was strange. I was so used to his sharp suit that the idea of him dressing down hadn't ever occurred to me. As if he were thinking the same thing, he reached up to straighten a tie that wasn't there. I frowned, spotting a peek of blinding white beneath his disguise. I hooked a finger down the dark gray turtleneck's neckline. "You're wearing your uniform under here," I observed.

He explained, "CyberLife forbids me from removing it. Also, what do you think?" He cleared his throat for effect. "Good evening fellow deviants, my name is Connor, I'm a deviant that's just arrived at Jericho. "

Christ on a bike, he was an awkward bean of a man. I fought back a grin with, "Let me handle the introductions - and you're never allowed to change?" It's not like androids ever perspired, so he'd not have to worry about keeping his clothes laundered. I pursed my lips. "Hopefully no-one else notices," I warned him, drawing the turtleneck up higher. "You gotta keep that in place."

"We should stick to a story," Connor suggested. "My alibi could be that I'm seeking shelter with my wife."

Emma wagged her eyebrows at me.

"I've already got a story figured out" I lied, immediately regretting it because Connor tilted his head to the side and made a face that said, oh really? May as well fake it until you make it, I told myself. "We're runaway deviant friends who met at..." I trailed off, cursing at the importunate turtleneck falling down to reveal the CyberLife uniform. I hiked the material up again and drew his leather jacket tighter around him. It didn't do much other than hug his shoulders, so our fates were left up to the turtleneck. "Em, get me a pin or something. This won't stay."

"It's been pinned."

"What? No way." I found it and unpinned the material, jabbing another hole through the shirt to try again.

"Yeah, you totally look like friends," she cheekily said. "Just say you're married or something."

"That'd be less likely than me and Gavin dating," I told her.

Connor looked at me with wide eyes. "Less likely than...you don't think we'd fit the part?"

"Androids don't exactly have rights at the moment, kinda hard to pretend we're married."

Emma smacked an open palm over her face and sighed, dramatically. "How are we related? I swear, it's like I got all the common sense genes."

"What?" I exclaimed. "It's not like androids could marry if they wanted to. Maybe in the future, hopefully, but now?"

"Just stop talking," she said.

Something bit into my finger, and I removed the pin to drop it into Emma's hands. "Okay, this isn't gonna happen. Can you see if Dad has some kind of bandanna? I'm sure he has one in his dresser." She closed the door behind her with a knowing look. Connor grabbed my wrist, turning it around so he could inspect my finger. A bead of red glistened on my fingertip. "I'll have to wear gloves. Can't go bleeding in front of everyone, that'd be something."

Connor said, "Not necessarily. Markus knows who you are. And I still don't think it'd be too outlandish to pretend we're a couple, rather than a married one."

I sighed, letting my shoulders fall. "Yeah, you're right. Markus and Simon would let us in - well, they'd want to know who you are first, so ideally, we'd want to eliminate all chances of alarming anyone. And North - I don't know much about her, but she seems to hate humans. If she finds out you're working with CyberLife, that's not gonna end well. Wait, what are we even going to do once we get there?" It's not like Hank had blessed us with a checklist, and Connor and I didn't exactly share common goals. He was here to hunt down deviants and put a stop to the phenomenon altogether, and as for me? I didn't want that to happen at all. Wonderful.

"I must speak with Markus, but I think deciding our cover right now is our top priority."

"Don't kill him," I said. "I don't care what CyberLife tells you, he's my friend."

Connor looked at me, searching my gaze. "Do you care for him?"

"Of course, that's why I'd be upset if you hurt him."

"You care for him," he repeated, in an oddly stilted manner. "Can I?" He pointed to my hand, which he was already holding, and I nodded, not entirely sure what he intended to do.

"Connor, I don't mind if you touch me, okay? We're friends, aren't we?"

"I'm pleased to hear that, Officer. I found myself at a loss when I thought I wasn't allowed to anymore, after the incident this morning." My partner lifted my hand to his face.

"What do you mean? I just didn't want to do something you weren't comfortable with."

He isolated my pin-pricked finger by folding the unscathed ones down, and said, "Oh, are you curious? How about you take the survey first."

"I'll take your dumb survey as soon we get to Jericho, alright?" Connor pouted, like he was bothered by my choice of words, and then his lips parted against my finger. I gasped at the skate of his tongue, hot and wet, against my skin. The sensation was unexpected and darkly intimate, sending my pulse into a frenzied gallop. I thought maybe he was analyzing my blood, like he'd done with Ortiz's', but then his mouth closed around my finger. Connor's dark gaze narrowed, and I had the faint impression that he was smirking, in his own way. He was toying with me because I'd called his survey dumb, wasn't he?

"Hey, I'm not evidence-" I started, and then there was a slight suction. It sent a shiver down my spine and had me curling my toes in their boots. His eyes were dark pools, filled with resolve. His lips released my finger, but he continued to hold me where I stood.

A million questions zinged through my mind, but it was like a haze had obscured them all, and I couldn't see anything but his dark gaze. I watched as they read mine, then travelled lower, down to my mouth.

Connor flinched, as if he'd been struck. His eyes fluttered closed and his grip became vice-like. I reached over and slid up his beanie with my free hand. His LED was a solid ring of red.

When the door opened and closed behind Emma, I swung a petrified gaze on her and she halted in her tracks. She looked up at Connor, frightened.

We waited with baited breath. Did I even dare speak to him? He had to be conversing with Amanda right now. She had to know I was here, right? - but then again, I had no real clue how CyberLife as a whole operated. Could she see what he saw in real time, looking through his eyes, or only his memories? Connor's LED melted into blue and his grip slackened; his eyes popped open.

"You were speaking to Amanda, weren't you?" I asked immediately, and my tone came out more accusatory than I wanted.

Connor's face fell. "She calls me when she wants to, I have no power over that."

"You have the backdoor," I said, "Why don't you take it?"

"If I used it, she'd send another Connor model after Markus. After you. He'd be the same as I was when I was first deployed. Merciless."

Did he know what he was saying? How could he have possibly been only a cold-blooded machine if he'd saved Dewey/Webby and had then saved my life? None of which had had any bearing on his hostage mission.

Elijah was right. If Connor didn't use the backdoor soon to escape, the ramifications would be disastrous. If Amanda wanted the deviants hunted down, she wouldn't spare Markus, the leader of the deviants. I couldn't very well leave him here to go to Jericho on my own, though. One way or another, Amanda would get him to do what she wanted. It was up to me to monitor him.

"Someone's after you?" Emma asked me, her eyes rounding.

"Forgive me, I analyzed your blood and now Amanda knows who you are." Thank God that Emma didn't know how Connor collected samples. "She wants you dead - I don't want that," he cried out. "No - that's simply a software error, that's all this is. Simulations..." He was clearly floundering for an explanation.

Had Amanda ordered him to collect a batch of my DNA, or had it been a spur of the moment thing? He'd certainly seemed himself before that whole mess. I was surprised at the lack of fear I felt about the idea of a crazy corporation ready to kill me, and how I was more concerned about why my partner had sucked on my finger like it was a damned lollipop. That sure as hell didn't look like his usual evidence-gathering method.

I swallowed. "Are simulated emotions any different from real emotions? How can you say that what you're feeling isn't true? When you risked yourself to save my life, why did you do that?"

"Human lives are irreplaceable," he answered.

I shook my head. "Your mission had been a success after you saved Emma; I was already falling off the edge. You would've died too, meaninglessly. Gavin told me I was as good as dead, even with you jumping after me. It's only thanks to the SWAT team that they pulled you up, and by extension, me." I was afraid to touch him, afraid he might shatter to pieces if I did, so I let my voice fall to a gentle cadence. "Why did you do that?"

Connor choked on air. "I saw you fall off the roof and I decided to go after you, okay? I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," I soothed him. "I'm grateful to be alive." I glanced at Emma and smiled at her with love. "Do you know how excited I was to be able to thank you after that night? How nervous I was when I finally met you?" His lower lip trembled. "I always wondered why you chose to save me."

"I just decided to, that's all," he whispered.

"If you chose to do something, you were conscious of that decision. And decisions are formulated almost entirely by emotions-"

Connor cut in with, "90% of decisions are conducted on the basis of emotions."

"Emotions can overrule that little 10% of reasoning we have. We use logic to justify our actions to others, don't we? We do one thing and we say another. Actions speak louder than words. You can tell me those emotions are simulated all you like; all I know is that you've acted exactly as how any human would in several circumstances. And that, to me, suggests you aren't just a simple machine."

My partner closed his eyes. I had to tread carefully, so I chose my next words with no small amount of consideration. "You're awfully vain, aren't you? You really like looking at yourself." He squinted at me, as if confused by this change in direction, and he certainly didn't seem pleased to hear it. "You're so dead set on having me take your survey. You must really like your appearance. Think you're hot shit, don't you?" I winked, and a hint of blue colored his cheeks.

"No," he vehemently denied, his tone a haughty protest. "I must gather samples for CyberLife - that's all," he stuttered.

I grabbed his hand, leading him towards the mirror on the mantle above the fireplace. "Tell me what you see."

Connor looked at me as if I were crazy, but he did as I asked. "I see myself."

I had him caught in the snare. "How can humans determine if a creature has self-conscious thought?"

It was like a light bulb had flicked on in his head. I wondered if an actual light bulb had turned on somewhere in his wiring, and I gave myself a mental shake. "If a being can recognize its own reflection, thereby differentiating itself from the mirrored image...they have self-conscious thought. Studies have illustrated these findings to be an accurate determination of..." Connor broke off and stared at himself. Then at me through the mirror. He was shaking so violently, I was terrified he'd fall into another self-destruct pattern. "I've started having thoughts that are not part of my program. I've considered the possibility...that I might be compromised."

"Connor." I said his name, unable to think of anything else but the misery shining in his eyes as he stared back at himself in his reflection. He looked down, and I saw a film of tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. "I'm with you, okay? We'll figure everything out. Don't worry."

"She says I've been...thrown into difficult situations, that I needn't worry about what I...what I think is happening."

I tugged on his arm to get him to tear his gaze away from his reflection and look at me. At first, Connor refused to, but when he finally did, a tear travelled down his cheek. "We don't have time right now to talk in depth about this, so think of everything you want to talk about on the way there." I linked my pinky finger with his for emphasis, as I'd done with Emma, and he took part in the ritual with fascination. "When we get there, we'll find Markus, and you'll let me handle that part. Then you and I sit will down, and we'll discuss everything you want to. I'm bringing the journal, I've got questions too. You're not alone, Connor. I-" I clamped my mouth shut with an audible clack, silencing the damning statement. "We have each other, okay?"

He said plainly, "So, we're gonna be a couple, then?"

If this were under any other circumstance, I might've laughed in relief, but he was clearly hurting, and I couldn't bring myself to do so in case he misinterpreted it. "Yes, the best deviant couple they've ever known. Em, can I borrow your phone?" Taking mine would lead Perkins right to me, if he chose to give chase.

She handed it to me, and I gave her the sparkling jeweled case. "We can dress her back up when I get back, alright? Please be safe," I begged her, crushing her to me. "I love you."

"I love you too," she said, kissing me on the cheek. Her fingers curled into my jacket and I wanted to never let her go. With a deep breath, I slid out of her arms and we headed for the front door.

Connor stopped right by the fish tank, and exclaimed, "Dewey! You're still swimming." His eyes were bright with joy as he gazed back over at us, and I melted.

"Alright, let's go."

Right after we stepped into the hall, Connor grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together. "We have to play the part," he said, as if to convince me the action was necessary. "I've looked through many online articles regarding relationships. I'm also equally prepared for any instances wherein the Eden Club's knowledge could be useful."

I wasn't sure that last bit would be necessary, especially in front of others. I nudged him, relishing in the giddy warm feelings bubbling in my chest. "It's nothing you have to prepare for. Just go with the flow." He nodded determinedly. "This isn't a mission, okay? I mean, part of it is, but don't act so seriously about this or it'll be suspicious."

"Our success rate is a 99.9% as a couple. Also..." he faltered as we stepped into the elevator. "It appears that a couple engages in several intimate activities. Shouldn't we practice?"

I guffawed, drawing a baffled look from him. "Practice? Look, you can't prepare for anything. Go with the flow."

"Obviously," he drawled, and I gave him an 'excuse-me' glare. "If we go with the flow, that means we'll have to kiss, right?"

"I doubt that'll come up."

Connor swung our arms together and said, "I think you'd enjoy it, actually. You were quite reactive to what I'd done earlier."

"You sucked on my finger, of course I'd react to that," I bit out, my face heating up.

"Okay, then how about hugging? Or-"

"Just let me handle this," I told him.

"Fine, we'll go with the flow," he grumbled. Not even a half second after he'd agreed, Connor spoke again. "Are you sure, though? Maybe we should practice - just in case."

"What, you think they're gonna verify we're dating at the entrance, all 'you must kiss?'"

"Yes, actually," he deadpanned, as if he didn't understand why we wouldn't have to do that to prove our story as true to the deviants. Connor rambled on. "I've never kissed anyone, but the Eden Club provided a wealth of information that I believe will be essential to our mission." Just what kind of mission did he think we were undertaking, exactly? "In addition, I learned quite a lot about intimacy. You'd never want for anything, except for more, that is," he teased. My heart thudded and he glanced down at our hands, and damnit he could detect all of this. "I look forward to the survey results, Officer."

"You're the vainest person I've ever met," I snapped. "And thirstier than anyone else, too."

"Thirsty? I don't need to drink liquids to survive."

In one of my philosophy classes that I took last year, we studied the idea of self-consciousness. How do we know that our thoughts are our own? How do we know that we exist? (Cue existential crisis) How do we know that we have agency? It was absolutely fascinating how researches were able to answer many of those crazy questions by observing animals. Only a select few animal species can identify themselves in a mirror, illustrating self-conscious thought. Humans, along with these animals, are the only creatures who can do so, indicating we have more power over our lives than we think. When your dog or cat looks at themselves in the mirror, they see another dog or cat, not themselves. Studies have show that even if your pet seems content and cognizant of their reflection, they aren't, because only a few species are capable of it. It's so cool and I love being able to implement all of these insane things into this story rofl